Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

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Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns are perfect for the grilling season. They are so much better and healthier than store bought!

whole-wheat-hamburger-buns

The weather is hot and grilling is everyone’s favorite activity these days. We actually bought a new grill last week and I am so excited to use it. Earlier we had this super small grill which we used for exactly 2 days last year. I guess it was just too small to even work on, so now we got a bigger one. Even this one isn’t huge, but good enough for 2 of us. I am thinking about a lot of grilled desserts and of course some grilled vegetarian burgers. But before I can make the burger, I obviously need burger buns and nothing better than making your own burger buns at home. Bonus if they are healthier like these Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns. They are made with 100% white whole wheat flour, are easy to make and will be great for all your grilling recipes.

whole-wheat-hamburger-buns

I have been making my own bread for almost 3 years now but still I feel the same butterflies in my stomach when the bread is in the oven as I did when I baked my 1st ever bread. You know there’s something magical about the art of bread making, it’s amazing how the yeast works and every time I work with it, I cannot help but be amazed by the whole process. Baking whole wheat hamburger buns or any bread at home is easy if you know how to work with yeast. My experience tells me that 2 things are super important when you are working with yeast – 1. a good quality yeast, this is a must. More often than not the recipe doesn’t work because you didn’t use a good quality yeast and 2. the right temperature for the yeast to activate. The yeast will not activate/work if the temperature of the liquid is too hot or too cold. It should be warm, around 115 F degrees. Obviously, the best way to do this is through a kitchen thermometer but it’s fine if you don’t have that. Just touch the water/milk with your finger tips, if you have to remove it immediately, the temperature is too high. It should be just warm enough.

Trust me, once you make homemade hamburger buns at home you would never want to buy it from the stores. These whole wheat hamburger buns taste amazing with honey or jam and are perfect for all your burger recipes. The buns are obviously not as light as regular buns since this is 100% whole wheat but they have a great nutty taste, which I really liked. Hope you guys give this recipe a try!

whole-wheat-hamburger-buns

* You may or may not need all the flour. Stop when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. I did not use the entire 3.5 cups.

You may also love our sourdough buns recipe.

whole-wheat-hamburger-buns
whole-wheat-hamburger-buns

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

4.76 from 50 votes
Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns are perfect for the grilling season. They are so much better and healthier than store bought!
Servings 8 buns
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Rise Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 55 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour I used less than 3.5 cups, around 3.25 cups + 1-2 tablespoon
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large egg room temperature

Topping

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Instructions
 

  • In the steel bowl of your stand mixer , mix together 3 cups white whole wheat flour, salt, and instant yeast. Set aside.
  • In a pan warm together water and honey.
  • Let the mixture cool down a bit for 6-7 minutes or till it reaches around 120-125 F degrees.
  • Add the cooled water-honey mixture now to the flour mixture and mix.
  • Add the whisked egg, oil and mix.
  • Start adding the remaining flour little by little, ¼ cup at a time. Stop adding the flour, when the dough just starts coming together from the sides. You may nor may not need all the flour. Do not add more flour than required. The dough will be little sticky and shaggy. That is okay.
  • Knead on medium-low speed for around 10 minutes using the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer.
  • The dough will be smooth and little sticky but after you have kneaded it well, it will spring back back if you poke it.
  • Transfer this dough to a oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel and keep at a warm place for 1-2 hours or until double in size. If it's really cold when you are making these buns, preheat oven to 200 F degrees and then switch if off. Place the dough inside the oven (with the oven being off) and let it rise there
  • After the dough has risen, punch it down to release the air.
  • Divide it into 8 equal portions. You can use a kitchen scale to make sure all dough balls are equal. Roll each dough portion into a ball and place on baking sheet , around 3 inches apart.
  • Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise for an hour or till almost doubled in size. Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and tablespoon water for the topping. Once the dough balls have risen, brush each with egg wash mixture, then sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
  • Bake at 400 F degrees for 10-12 minutes, rotating once in the middle. The tops of the buns will appear golden brown when done.
  • Remove from oven, brush them immediately with melted butter. Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Recipe by Manali at Cook With Manali

Nutrition

Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 454mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1.8mg
Course Bread, Breads
Cuisine American
Calories 283
About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Rhona
3 years ago

5 stars
Wonderful recipe! I didn’t have white whole wheat flour, and wasn’t sure if all regular whole wheat flour would make a difference, so I used just under 1 cup of white flour in with my whole wheat flour. I proofed my yeast with the water and honey, then beat in egg, oil and salt, and proceeded with the recipe. I made 4 hamburger rolls and 4 twisted dinner type rolls. Just had a sandwich on one— delish. They turn into a good size bun even though they look like they will be small.

Austin
3 years ago

5 stars
Fantastic and easy! I ended up using significantly more flour, but I’m at a high altitude so it makes sense. ThNks!

Marilyn, North Dakota
5 years ago

I am so happy I came across this recipe. I made it exactly like she says but after making it several times I have now started making it with no white flour and only use organic whole wheat. I made them at my daughters last week and the Grands just loved them. My husband is always so happy when he sees me gearing up for a batch of these. We eat a lot of soup in the winter and they are perfect – also I make turkey burgers and these go so well with them. Thank you so much for… Read more »

Quiscalus
5 years ago

5 stars
Wow! This is hands down the BEST whole wheat bread recipe out there. It’s so easy and works sooo well! I didn’t think that 100% whole wheat bread could be so soft and lovely. Any other whole wheat dough recipe I’ve come across before has either contained some amount of white flour or was way too complicated and involved.

Thank you and your lovely girls so much for sharing your recipes! 🙂

M B
5 years ago

5 stars
I reduced the recipe very roughly – used approx 2.5 c flour, 1/4 c ground pumpkin seeds (for iron boost), extra large egg (that’s what I had), 1.5 tbsp oil and water as needed. I got 6 big buns and they taste great with honey and butter out of the oven.
Thanks for sharing this easy and wonderful recipe. My 5 year old loved it. 👍🙂

Darlene Warwick
6 years ago

For the first time, I have successfully made bread and it was with this recipe! These were delicious!

Can I use this recipe to make bread loaves?

Kyle Kilpatrick
8 months ago

Do you think if I used regular “red” whole wheat flour (as opposed to white) that this recipe would still work? I know the flavor would be a bit different, of course, but I rather like the flavor of regular whole wheat

Kendra
1 year ago

5 stars
This is a great recipe! I’ll be keeping it as my go to for buns! I didn’t use as much honey, but I’ve never had whole wheat buns turn out so great!!! Fluffy and delicious using only whole wheat flour!

I didn’t read the instructions before hand, and just mixed my wet with my dry ingredients in a bowl and then transferred to the counter to hand knead! Such a great recipe!!!!

Annice O'Rourke
3 years ago

I’m vegan and am wondering if I can use pure maple syrup instead of honey?

Uma
3 years ago

What can I substitute for the egg?

Steve
3 years ago

5 stars
Excellent recipe! Saving this to make again.

Harris Siahamis
3 years ago

5 stars
I made this recipe before some days and the buns turns out great! Really delicous!
Thank you for sharing

Lee
3 years ago

Can you make these minus the egg? I am allergic…..

rc
3 years ago

5 stars
Wow, i am so impressed with This Recipe it is better than the King Arthur Flour Recipe Easy to follow. These came out delicious; soft, Golden, scrumptious. Thank you!

Andrea
3 years ago

Can this recipe be doubled? I am using a 5qt Kitchen Aid mixer.